as in explosive
capable of catching or being set on fire don't store oily rags and other combustible materials in a hot attic

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of combustible Neighbors whose homes are farther apart face another risk: The vegetation and other combustible materials in between properties can fuel a wildfire. Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 27 Feb. 2025 As wildfires devastated communities in southern California over the past three weeks, an unknown number of highly combustible lithium-ion batteries found in everything from Apple AirPods to Tesla Cybertrucks were engulfed in flames and released dangerous chemical pollutants into the air. Mack Degeurin, Popular Science, 30 Jan. 2025 For instance, pipes carrying combustible fuels like gas can accumulate significant charge along the walls even if those pipes are nonconducting. Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 19 Feb. 2025 The fires are the result of a confluence of combustible trends. Jeff Young, Newsweek, 19 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for combustible
Recent Examples of Synonyms for combustible
Adjective
  • The larger simulated star burned through its fuel in just 2.6 million years before meeting its own explosive end, showering a whopping 55 solar masses of oxygen (more than 18 million Earth masses) into space.
    Sharmila Kuthunur, Space.com, 12 Mar. 2025
  • Moscow has welcomed the radical U.S. shift in rhetoric and policy, which culminated in an explosive Trump-Zelenskyy Oval Office meeting last month.
    David Brennan, ABC News, 12 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • In this region — as in many across the state — people are willing to accept the tradeoff of living in a beautiful yet flammable landscape.
    CalMatters, The Mercury News, 20 Mar. 2025
  • Several years ago, an engineer who worked for the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety wanted to replace flammable pine straw mulch with gravel.
    Ron Lieber, New York Times, 19 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • And all this against an inflammable backdrop of geopolitical crises including but not limited to the Israel-Hamas war and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
    John Leicester, Quartz, 15 Apr. 2024
  • Heat also stresses old electrical systems — insulation breaks down; lubricants in relays dry out — and a not-insignificant amount of the subway’s electrical wiring dates to the 1920s and 1930s, some of it cloth-covered, inflammable, and pervious to water.
    Curbed, Curbed, 28 July 2023
Adjective
  • For that red-hot setup, Selfridges placed a fiery red Jil Sander coat, straight from the brand’s spring 2025 runway, front and center.
    Violet Goldstone, WWD, 12 Mar. 2025
  • Washington Post critic Ron Charles (March 9) How bad could the North Sea tanker collision be for the environment? Crew member reveals harrowing details of fiery cargo ship crash off U.K.
    Kerry Breen, CBS News, 11 Mar. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Combustible.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/combustible. Accessed 24 Mar. 2025.

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